I resolved to read more books this year. For the last two years, I’ve set myself an extremely modest goal of 3 books In 12 months. For the last two years, I’ve failed. This year, I’ve exceeded my own expectations and rewarded myself for it with an e-reader.
I was a voracious reader as a kid. From first through seventh grade, I read constantly—maxing out Summer Reading stamp sheets and breaking records in the Accelerated program at school. [1] When I moved districts in eighth grade, I learned that most kids didn’t really want to get to know the quiet boy in the corner with his nose in a book about dragons. So I abandoned the habit in favor of making new friends.
I read for pleasure sparingly throughout high school and college. Less after that. I was writing more, which probably scratched the same itch to some degree. But eventually that suffered from lack of reading too.
In 2016, at the height of my productivity neuroses, I wrote about my technological struggles with getting back into the habit. Once I settled on a “workflow,” I did end up reading more that year—mostly for review episodes of my Star Wars podcast Bantha Fodder.
Somehow it’s now almost 10 years later. I still worry about the process of reading more than I should, but it’s not been the focus. Instead it’s the practice.
It was a slow start when I started reading Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn in February. It took a month to finish part one. The slow progress and general lack of interest had me second-guessing the many recommendations I’d been giving almost as much as my judgement in picking a book to rekindle the fire. So, on the side, I started reading some graphic novels for variety. That really helped.
After plowing through two BOOM! Studios series I’d had on my reading list for a while (Grass Kings and Something Is Killing The Children), I noticed my attention span improving. Not by much, but enough to get momentum. I finished part two of Mistborn in a few weeks. Part three the week after. Then I went on a weeklong trip to Maine. I finished it a day or two after we got home.
Since then, I’ve finished 4 more books and I’m 85% done with Mistborn book 2. I’ve blown past my goal of 5 books and, more importantly, found a rhythm and joy in reading again. It’s been nice to rekindle a long-dormant part of my personality.
I also doubled my goal to 10.
To the more devoted reader, this probably doesn’t sound very impressive. That’s not the point. I like reading again. I’m shaking off effectively 15+ years of self-imposed shame.
Now a daily habit, I’m tracking my reads on Hardcover, an Amazon-free (and soon open source) GoodReads alternative. And because I’ve achieved my goal I treated myself to a new Kobo Clara BW.
Deciding on the device
I’ve been keeping an eye on the e-reader space for years, but never pulled the trigger. I bought one for my grandmother during the first COVID lockdown. Her weekly library visits canceled, I thought it prudent to bring her to the digital age of book consumption. She wore through that Paperwhite in two years of heavy use.
For myself, I’ve been keen on maintaining control of my ebook library. Amazon’s removal of the “download and transfer” feature for Kindle purchases was a major motivator in my re-evaluation of Kobo’s offerings. The first place I looked to for advice on their lineup was SixColors. Jason Snell’s authority on ebooks is practiced and thorough.
I started with his guide to the best on the market, which is routinely updated. The top recommendation here for most readers is the Kindle Paperwhite. Because Kobo discontinued their page-turn button-driven Libra 2 in favor of a colored variant, his bump-up pick is the Kobo Sage.
If they were available new, I’d probably have purchased a Libra 2. The color looks neat, but I think the washed-out representation of blacks alone would bother me. Instead, I opted for Kobo’s most travel-friendly option. The Clara BW. For me, it’s actually pocketable in some pants. Particularly the ones I prefer to lounge in around the house. That’s a big plus.
I didn’t buy a case for it. It didn’t seem necessary. However it took me no time after its arrival to customize its inner workings by way of third-party customizations.
Dropbox
Apparently, the Dropbox and Google Drive integrations on Kobo devices is only officially supported on their flagship tablets. That includes the Libra Color, Sage, and Elipsas 1 and 2. It does not include the Clara.
Fortunately, this is a matter of a simple modifying a configuration file onboard the device. Here’s how to do it:
- Connect your Kobo to your computer using the USB cable provided.
- Open the device in your file explorer and find
KoboeReader/.kobo/Kobo.- You may have to enable hidden file visibility. This is
Command + Shift + Periodin Finder on a Mac.
- You may have to enable hidden file visibility. This is
- Open
Kobo eReader.confin a plaintext editor like TextEdit, Notepad, or Visual Studio Code. - Under
[OneStoreServices], update the following values:
dropbox_link_account_poll=https://authorize.kobo.com/{region}/{language}/LinkDropbox
kobo_dropbox_link_account_enabled=True
- Be sure that there are no duplicate keys for these values exist, then eject the Kobo and reboot it.
- Add the following to your NickelMenu configuration. This adds a shortcut to the integration screen:
menu\_item:main:Dropbox:nickel\_open:library:dropbox
From there, you can get by with the official documentation.
NickelMenu
I didn’t have to do a lot of research to find that NickelMenu was a must for a Kobo. With mixed success, it gives the user some control over the interface.
For me, adding a new menu option with shortcuts to power cycle the device [2], force a connection to USB without having to replug the cable, toggle dark mode, and open various screens otherwise buried in other panels.
I’ve added my menu configuration below. You can find the complete documentation as well as some more advanced menu options here.
Some additional menu config options
# Adding the main menu item for NickelMenu
experimental:menu_main_15505_label:Jacob
experimental:menu_main_15505_icon:/mnt/onboard/.adds/nm/.menu.svg
# Main Menu Items
menu_item:main:Device Owner:dbg_msg:Jacob Tender. Contact at hello@jacobtender.net.
menu_item:main:Sleep:power:sleep
menu_item:main:Reboot:power:reboot
menu_item:main:Power Off:power:shutdown
menu_item:main:Connect to USB:nickel_misc:force_usb_connection
menu_item:main:Send to Kobo:nickel_browser:modal:https://send.djazz.se
menu_item:main:Dropbox:nickel_open:library:dropbox
menu_item:main:Dark Mode:nickel_setting:toggle:dark_mode
# Reader Menu Items
menu_item:reader:Reading Stats:nickel_open:reading_life :stats
# Factory Menu Items
# 0 - Home
# 1 - My Books
# 2 - Activity [hidden by default]
# 3 - My Notebooks
# 4 - Discover
# 5 - More
experimental:menu_main_15505_1_label:Books
experimental:menu_main_15505_2_enabled:0
experimental:menu_main_15505_3_label:Settings
Try as I might, I could not get the stock menu items renamed. Otherwise, everything else worked great.
OverDrive / Libby
Of all the setup I had to do for my Kobo, setting up OverDrive to work properly was the most tedious. This integration is old. OverDrive has been supplanted by Libby as the primary user-interfacing service. On Kobo’s firmware, however, the connection is still made through OverDrive’s original endpoints. If you use a single library card through Libby, things aren’t that bad. If you access multiple library systems with multiple cards, buckle up. This takes some work.
The following information is distilled from two helpful posts I found on Reddit.
There are two methods to connecting to Overdrive from a Kobo device. The first is using a Library Card number and its PIN. Using this method will do what it says on the tin: connect to one library catalog and sync its borrows and holds.
The second is to use an Overdrive account. The Kobo will still only show one library catalog, but it will sync borrowed books from any that are saved within this account.
Step 1. Libby
In your Libby app, make sure you’ve got all the cards you intend to use on your Kobo. Also set “I have no preference” in your account’s reading settings.
Step 2. Overdrive
As mentioned, you’ll need an Overdrive account. If you already have one, you can login. If you don’t, you’ll need to sign up here.
Within the account settings here, add the libraries you intend to borrow from. They should match what you’ve got in Libby.
Step 3. Kobo
Apparently, If the purchase address on your Kobo account isn’t in a country that supports Overdrive, the integration won’t appear on your device. Check that first.
This is where it get’s a little hairy. My thanks to user Sensitive_Engine469 on Reddit for an illustrated breakdown of the steps needed to add multiple libraries. I’ll summarize it as briefly as possible below, but their image gallery will likely be more helpful.
- Tap “Get started” from the OverDrive screen in your Kobo settings menu.
- Tap “Add Library” from the splash screen.
- Search for your first library and select it from the results.
- Tap “Sign in on this device”, ignoring the QR code.
- Dismiss the keyboard to tap the “Sign in with OverDrive” button at the bottom of the sign in form, ignoring the library card number and pin fields.
- Sign in with your Overdrive email and password.
- Tap “Sign in”
- Tap “Sign in on this device”, ignoring the QR code again.
- Sign in using the first library’s card number and pin.
- Tap “Add Library” from the splash screen.
- Repeat steps 3-10 for each additional library
- Tap “Add Library” last time. You’ll now set the library that will display in Overdrive on your Kobo.
- Search for the library (maybe pick the one with the biggest collection)
- Tap “Sign in on this device”, ignoring the QR code.
- Dismiss the keyboard to tap the “Sign in with OverDrive” button at the bottom of the sign in form, ignoring the library card number and pin fields.
- Sign in with your Overdrive email and password.
- Tap “Browse” to be taken to the OverDrive tab in Discover.
That’s it. It looks like a lot of redundant instruction and the results may not look like you’ve done the job. But this is what it takes. Borrowed books from any libraries set up through this method should in your Kobo library as they become available. You can borrow from the Kobo as well, but only from the library selected in step 12. You can return any book from the device.
Personally, I just manage all my lending from the Libby app.
This integration is ripe for a rewrite. I would expect the user to login to OverDrive (or better yet, directly to Libby) with any of their registered library cards and have the option to select or add all libraries saved within their system.
Considering the recent announcement that Mozilla is shuttering Pocket, I can see some major firmware updates happening in the coming months. Fingers crossed for some enhancements in this area.
Calibre
After setting up my Kobo how I wanted it, I figured it was time to add some eBooks. I have a pretty large library of ePubs and PDFs lying around. Some from physical preorders or Kickstarted campaigns. Others from Humble Bundles or otherwise rescued from the DRM-trap that is Amazon in times when it was easy to do so.
For better or worse, Calibre still appears to be the best tool for managing these. As I have many times before, I created a new Calibre catalog, this time pointing it to the Dropbox folder created for my Kobo integration. I dragged in a bunch of books, cleaned up their metadata and covers, and then tested that integration out by accessing the Dropbox panel and pulling down a book. It works!
But that’s not my preferred method. It is convenient for adding something on the go, but I prefer a more prescribed approach. For this I used two extensions: One for Calibre, KoboTouchExtended, and one more for the Kobo, NickelSeries.
KoboTouchExtended is easy to install. In Calibre, navigate to Preferences in the system menu bar, then “Get plugins to enhance Calibre.” In that panel, search for Kobo, install the plugin, and restart the app when prompted. [3]
The rest is pretty self-explanatory. Plug in your Kobo and connect it to your PC with Calibre open. After a few seconds, it’ll identify your device. Select the books you’d like to transfer and click “Send to device” from the app’s menu or right-click on any book and find the same functionality there.
The KoboTouchExtended driver will automatically convert your books to .kepub format to enhance the reading experience. This allows for reading stats, page turns per chapter, and advanced title metadata visible in the reading mode.
The benefit of NickelSeries is that it adds native support for parsing additional metadata from EPUB files that would otherwise require a reconnect to Calibre after the books have been added and added to the Kobo’s library. This includes series and subtitle data.
Read books!
I really love this thing. The weight and form factor are comfortable to hold in one of my hands. I’ve been using it daily since I got it, often at night—leveraging the warm backlight and dark mode to sneak in a few chapters before sleep takes me.
I’ve got more books on my device now than I’ll be able to read for many, many months. That feels pretty great. I’m getting lots of recommendations from friends and other users on Hardcover. That invitation is open to anyone. Please send me recommendations of your own!
One year, I exceeded the rest of my class’ combined points. When the celebratory end-of-year limo-ride to Burger King arrived, I had to miss it due to chicken pox. ↩︎
I accidentally performed a hard reset of the device by pressing and holding the power button too long. This was after I had completely set up my customizations and integrations.
I didn’t want to repeat this, so I added a software button for restarting safely. ↩︎
I did notice that Calibre seems to have no memory of this being installed so it will show up in the filtered list of “not installed” plugins even when it is. ↩︎